[goldman_ballsac]

Hey guys,

I'm just wondering what my chances are of getting into a grad scheme in AM or ER?

I will graduate from Trinity College Dublin in May 2013 and I will get a minimum 2.1. I am studying economics. I'm interning abroad at a Fortune top 10 company doing a corp finance middle office type role, and I am hoping to get a part time private equity internship when I get home after my current 15 week internship.

I'll be applying to all the bulge brackets and then middle market and boutique AM firms.

Cheers

[PrincePauper]

(Original post by goldman_ballsac)
Hey guys,

I'm just wondering what my chances are of getting into a grad scheme in AM or ER?

I will graduate from Trinity College Dublin in May 2013 and I will get a minimum 2.1. I am studying economics. I'm interning abroad at a Fortune top 10 company doing a corp finance middle office type role, and I am hoping to get a part time private equity internship when I get home after my current 15 week internship.

I'll be applying to all the bulge brackets and then middle market and boutique AM firms.

Cheers

Depends how good your cover letter is, your CV, your motivation, mathematical ability for the test, verbal reasoning, interview skills, markets knowledge, how you engage with other people at the ACs, how you communicate and finally, luck.

If you are good at all the above, you should have a 100% chance of landing something.

Good luck!

[goldman_ballsac]

Thanks. I forgot to mention that I will be applying to places in London mainly. I'm pretty confident that if I land an interview I should be ok from there. As I don't live in the UK, it's hard enough to gauge the standard of applicants for these type of roles in London.

[crcr]

Just saying but almost everyone thinks they will be fine if they get an interview. What happens in reality is that most places are either looking for someone very specific (i.e. went to a certain uni, has lived in a certain country, etc.) or want someone who "fits" in, you can't really do much about either of these points.

The other factor is that a lot of places are going out of business but even places that are clearly very troubled are getting swamped with applications. Generally, if your applying to a place that has a grad scheme your chances are very very small. If you had a PE internship that would help somewhat but I don't see how getting an internship is any easier (maybe in AM, not in PE).

It is, unfortunately, a big mistake to think that if your competent something will happen. This is esp. the case with grad schemes. You have to make something happen yourself. Connections are far more important, at the moment, than anything else inc. ability.

[goldman_ballsac]

(Original post by crcr)
Just saying but almost everyone thinks they will be fine if they get an interview. What happens in reality is that most places are either looking for someone very specific (i.e. went to a certain uni, has lived in a certain country, etc.) or want someone who "fits" in, you can't really do much about either of these points.

The other factor is that a lot of places are going out of business but even places that are clearly very troubled are getting swamped with applications. Generally, if your applying to a place that has a grad scheme your chances are very very small. If you had a PE internship that would help somewhat but I don't see how getting an internship is any easier (maybe in AM, not in PE).

It is, unfortunately, a big mistake to think that if your competent something will happen. This is esp. the case with grad schemes. You have to make something happen yourself. Connections are far more important, at the moment, than anything else inc. ability.

Thanks for the honest opinion. The PE internship I'm hoping for is through connections, there'd be no hope without connections for PE, as most places don't hire undergrads, let alone interns. I mean the thing I can control at the moment is my CV and just getting in the door for an interview. I'm thinking of applying for internships at places that permit that for students going into final year, as it seems the majority of places are hiring from their interns.

Being stuck on this mickey mouse island that is Ireland certainly doesn't help with regards to expectations for London jobs. Any idea how Trinity is viewed over there?

Cheers

[Teenage Pirate]

TCD should have a very good reputation. You'll find that uni reputation matters a lot less outside the UK because people (esp HR, less so country teams etc which probably have targets) just don't know much about different countries' systems. And those people that know about Ireland know TCD is the ****, so you're covered on both fronts. But don't assume that means automatic interviews - those aren't the case for Oxbridge grads with internships in this market.

[crcr]

Your probably right about focusing on what you can control but I wouldn't say your CV is particularly relevant (I don't know about TCD but I know it isn't Oxbridge, HR may not know your uni but not-Oxbridge is all they care about). Being honest, the places that do focus on CVs probably won't be interested. These places also tend to have a very specific idea of who they want. My view is that, in these cases, there is usually going to be someone with a "more impressive" CV or more "interesting" background. It doesn't make sense to get into a "CV-battle" or generally stress about your qualifications. It does make sense to pick your battles and avoid these situations altogether.

In practical terms, I am talking about just trying to meet as many people as possible, even if they aren't looking for anyone they will usually give you someone else to bother. It isn't dignified but it is far better than a grad scheme if your prepared (if your not, it may be embarrassing). It is also far easier to show you know what your doing this way. I doubt most people who work in the industry were hired through grad schemes.

I also wouldn't say that places are hiring from their interns. It depends on what places you mean but AM/ER always takes a lot of people from other industries or postgrads (anecdotally, I would also say that a lot of interns, and even grads, take AM/ER as a second best). What is more most places don't do internships.

[goldman_ballsac]

(Original post by crcr)
Your probably right about focusing on what you can control but I wouldn't say your CV is particularly relevant (I don't know about TCD but I know it isn't Oxbridge, HR may not know your uni but not-Oxbridge is all they care about). Being honest, the places that do focus on CVs probably won't be interested. These places also tend to have a very specific idea of who they want. My view is that, in these cases, there is usually going to be someone with a "more impressive" CV or more "interesting" background. It doesn't make sense to get into a "CV-battle" or generally stress about your qualifications. It does make sense to pick your battles and avoid these situations altogether.

In practical terms, I am talking about just trying to meet as many people as possible, even if they aren't looking for anyone they will usually give you someone else to bother. It isn't dignified but it is far better than a grad scheme if your prepared (if your not, it may be embarrassing). It is also far easier to show you know what your doing this way. I doubt most people who work in the industry were hired through grad schemes.

I also wouldn't say that places are hiring from their interns. It depends on what places you mean but AM/ER always takes a lot of people from other industries or postgrads (anecdotally, I would also say that a lot of interns, and even grads, take AM/ER as a second best). What is more most places don't do internships.

Yeah I get what you mean. The difficulty I'm having with networking is basically not being in the UK. Unfortunately my budget doesn't allow me to fly over to London for an informational interview or anything along those lines. I'll just have to bang out a load of cold emails and get some phone calls set up. Cheers for the advice.

[crcr]

(Original post by goldman_ballsac)
Yeah I get what you mean. The difficulty I'm having with networking is basically not being in the UK. Unfortunately my budget doesn't allow me to fly over to London for an informational interview or anything along those lines. I'll just have to bang out a load of cold emails and get some phone calls set up. Cheers for the advice.

I have the same problem, however just being in London in the holidays is still going to work. I wouldn't completely write off Dublin, try stockbrokers and wealth managers as well as AM. The only place I know in Dublin is Setanta, which has a pretty good reputation. It is also an idea to try letters, they always get to the right person and don't involve having to work out someone's e-mail. It also works better to try and meet people as opposed to asking for a job, it is harder to be turned down this way.